Law and Order part IV

I pray that by now we can see that God always operates in accordance with laws, because He is a just God who holds Himself to a righteous standard.  While all of creation would operate in perfect harmony with itself and with God if this standard were imposed universally, God only imposes this righteous standard on those who acknowledge Him savior and God.  (It behooves me to state here that we have no righteousness of our own, but once we are reconciled with God through Christ, we stand justified in Christ who became our substitute and paid the debt of sin so we could have His righteousness imputed to us.) God longs to be reconciled to each and every man so He can bring Him into covenant with Him and cause man to know the freedom that comes in serving the Righteous King.  Those who are subject because of the debt of sin, to the Prince of darkness, serve a ruler who rules by coercion and deception.

There will come a day where there will no longer be resistance to the Government of God, but right now, neither kingdom is allowed to operate un-opposed.  We who have been born again, translated from the power of darkness into the Kingdom of Christ (Col 1:13) who make up the body and church of Christ, are mandated to resist the opposing kingdom!  As subjects of the righteous King, Christ Jesus, we yield to His Spirit within us and allow His will to be carried out on the earth through us.  We are not autonomous, obeying our own voice, living a futile aimless life of carnality.  We do not strive for temporal earthly gain as the rest of the world does.  We LIVE to see the glory of our Lord fill the earth as we, His church, use His authority to influence outcomes in spiritual battle.

Though we resist the enemy till we see evidence of Christ's victory manifest here in the earth, the conflict takes place against principalities and powers in the spiritual realm.(Eph 6)   This is why we operate according to the law of faith.(Gal 2:20)  There is no victory to be won, and no authority to be taken.  Christ triumphed over our enemy and His, and disarmed him at the cross.(Col 2)  He is seated far above all rule and authority with His church, of whom He is the head.(Eph 1)  We are simply to stand in His authority and enforce what Christ has established.  Satan and all of his armis know they have no authority to legally stake a claim or operate where Christ's authority has been established.    But if WE the church are ignorant of this fact we give legitimacy to Satan's rule and he takes advantage.   We give up the fight prematurely when we do not see immediate results and are not confident that in the end WE will be the one left standing.

 

As we absorb God's Word daily, the Holy Spirit equips us with the knowledge of the promises that are our armor and ammunition. As we grow in confidence that the promises of God are SURE, we will stand UNTIL the enemy is forced to admit the truth of his impotence and walk away empty handed. Once we gain ground, we must maintain a presence and move ahead with patient endurance.  Let patience have her perfect work in you so that you will be entire and perfect wanting nothing. (James 1:4)Daily hide God's word in your heart, the cunning lies of the devil are no match for God's truth and wisdom!

Next posting we will take a deeper look at the Law of Faith.

Law and Order part III (The 2 Kingdoms)

By now we should know that there are 2 kingdoms operating simultaneously in opposition to each other. (See Law and Order parts I and II) Satan’s lawless corrupt system, (which is temporal) and God’s righteous eternal government. Adam’s sin made us subject to the law of sin and death.

It will become important for us to understand God’s righteous justice. But for now, let’s understand that believers are to operate according to the law of faith which overrides EVERY law. Remember laws are meant to bring order, and when we operate according to the law of faith we are to expect an outcome. What many believers fail to recognize is that God created our spirit man to operate in the spirit realm. But we see ourselves as primarily flesh; consequently we try to navigate according to the flesh. Romans 8 makes it clear, our flesh is not to dictate our actions.

So, why the confusion?  When man fell into darkness, and forgot who he was created to be he accepted this fallen state as “normal”.   Man has forgotten that he was meant to live in perfect harmony with God and His principals, and meant to govern subject only to God’s authority.  When we were born again we were translated from the corrupt kingdom of darkness into the righteous kingdom of light. (Col.1:12-13) In this kingdom we are subject to the law of the spirit (Romans 8:1)  This law is written onto our hearts as the Holy Spirit teaches us, actually infusing God’s heart and mind into us, conforming us to His will.  We are not subject to the law of death of the old government because we are expected to abide by the laws of the new government we are under.  Romans Ch. 6 tells us that the sin which held our members or our flesh captive no longer has any power over us.  One cannot successfully abide by the laws of two kingdoms at the same time, what is allowable under one government may not be allowable under another government.  Matthew 6:24 says no one can serve 2 masters.  Romans 6:16 says Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.

His plan is simple.  We recognize lawlessness and understand that we have a responsibility to put a stop to it and advance the rule of the kingdom as ambassadors of the kingdom of God.   We cannot turn a blind eye when we see the law of sin and death in operation we must confront it and exercise Christ's authority over it. Our role is to enforce what Christ established when he dethroned principalities and powers, making a show of them openly at the cross. (Col. 2:15)  

Part IV will be our final look at this topic.  (for now)  We will see this concept put into practice.  The difference between living in joy and victory, and living in defeat and hopelessness is knowledge. (Luke 1:4, Eph 1:17, 4:13, Col 1:9&10, 2:3, 3:10 II Pet. 1:8, 3:18)

Law and Order part II

We see in the Word that God’s dealings with man are not haphazard.  God has always dealt with man using laws so man could understand that certain actions bring about certain consequences.  In all that God created, man was His prize creation.  He created man in His likeness and crowned him with glory and honor.  God is the supreme authority over the whole cosmos, but He originally gave man authority over a specific area, the Earth.  Everything that was on the earth was under man’s authority.  God made it evident that He wanted man to have control over his own life and outcomes.  Man had to operate under the natural laws and God given laws in order to remain in harmony with God and creation.  When God set up a system of laws with set outcomes He ultimately made Himself subject to the laws he had instituted.  God imposed on Himself restraints so man would be able to feel secure in His relationship with His creator, knowing ahead of time what outcomes he could expect based on his own behavior. 

When Satan rebelled against God, there was a revolt in Heaven and God allowed Satan to set up an opposing kingdom.  Adam and Eve originally operated under a different set of Laws before the fall than after the fall because they were actually subject to God’s kingdom laws.  God had given man the ability to rule himself within the kingdom God had set up on the earth.  Adam and Eve ushered in the rule of the opposing kingdom on the earth when they sinned against God.  The foundation of this opposing kingdom was death and they had now made themselves subject to it.  The rules of this kingdom demanded that man must earn his own keep.  All power and authority ultimately came from God but He had given man the ability to choose the kingdom he would be subject to.  Now God would only extend the benefits of His kingdom and power to man if He had entered into a legal and binding covenant where man agreed to the terms.  Man would initially become eligible by trusting God to be faithful to His word.  God would then bind himself to the party, and if man would operate within the guidelines of the covenant God would perform all that He had promised on behalf of the recipient.  In the Old Testament, the majority of promises made to man in covenant with God are conditional, based upon man’s obedience.  In order for man to be able to operate successfully in God’s kingdom he had to follow the laws that God had instituted that would produce an expected outcome.

When Christ came to earth as a man He perfectly fulfilled the covenant by perfectly meeting every condition of the covenant that was man’s responsibility.  By fulfilling each requirement Christ effectively overthrew the government that man was previously subject to, and stripped the ruler of his authority to hold man subject to it.  So today we see2 kingdoms in opposition to each other, the kingdom of satan, and the kingdom of God, both operating upon the earth.   Most people would take action if another person stole from them.  They know their rights, they know how to get justice, and they pursue it.  Yet surprisingly we let the devil break into our garage every day, steal our bike, watch him ride it down the street and convince ourselves he must have the right or else God wouldn’t let him!

In part 3 we will take a practical look at how a believer operates by faith in an unseen kingdom while there is a very visible kingdom that opposes us.    I am trusting the Holy Spirit to make it as plain to you as He did to me.

 

Law and Order (part I)

During the recent ongoing “Grace Awakening” the biggest obstacle I see (especially in the pastorate) is a fear of completely letting go of the Law. I struggled with this as well, wondering why God would introduce something so pivotal for a brief period of time and then seemingly cast it aside as if He’d changed His mind regarding its significance. After all He is the same yesterday today and forever.

As I searched for an answer, two foundational truths have guided my study. 1. Who God is; His attributes and His principals will never change. 2. God’s ultimate purpose for mankind will never change. My next several postings will build on each other, I pray that you will meditate on God’s Word as He leads you to seek greater revelation into His person!

Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of His throne. (Ps 97:2) For God to righteously establish justice, He must be righteous and just. For Him to govern righteously and justly He cannot rule arbitrarily based on a whim. God holds himself to a standard! You may say, but He is sovereign! GOD has set the standard that He will hold Himself to thereby maintaining His sovereignty. (We will discuss sovereignty, justice and righteousness in later postings) This standard is LAW; God is a God of Laws! Don’t let this scare you, it actually offers us assurance!

God is not above the law, He has established the Law, and He operates legally within the confines of the Law He has established. Think about it: when He created, He simply spoke laws into place that man later discovered, and actually had the audacity to name some of them after himself. ie. Newton's Law of Gravity. There are laws of physics; laws of electricity, mathematical laws, there are even laws that govern the English language.

God spoke laws into chaos and the result was order. That’s because a law governs. Each law carries with it governing actions that bring about an expected outcome. Each time the law is followed the outcome will be the same. The only way to render a law inoperational , is to put a law into place that overrides the existing law, either permanently or temporarily. (I hope you see where this is going!)

Some have concluded, (in error) that since we are no longer under the old “covenant of Law” but under grace that everything now is just willy nilly, loosey goosey, and we never know what God will do because it is after all based on His will and who knows what that is?  But God has given us imagery in the bible (yes in the new covenant) that contradicts this theory.  Jesus spoke of a Kingdom that is within us, and  a kingdom is established based on rule and law and government.    The bible speaks of warfare and armor (Eph 6, Acts 17, II Cor. 10) The military’s very foundation is rule and discipline, not to mention rank!

So are we under law in the new covenant or not? If so what is the rule of law we are subject to? Who are the powers that be? What is the hierarchy? What are the principals that govern this kingdom?

Please hunt for answers to these questions before we meet again, and please come back for part 2 of Law and Order.

Walking Back the Word of God

God, in these last days has spoken to us through His Son. (Heb.1:1-2) PERIOD! And yet after we hear what His Son has to say, we let so many other things weigh in, that the final decision isn’t even based on sound reason, let alone the preeminence of His WORD. In Psalm 138:2 God gives His Word preeminence, even above His name. The worlds were framed by His word, He, GOD, holds Himself to a standard, HIS WORD! He put flesh on His Word and sent Him to live among us and now in us! His Word is THE determining factor in all things. We would all nod in agreement and Amen to the above statements. But when it comes right down to where the rubber meets the road, we actually hold our experience to a much higher standard than the living, active, supernatural, all powerful Word of God.

God, knowing the power that His Words contain, made some very bold statements. There are no disclaimers, there is no fine print, HE is not backing away from the bold promises He made, WE ARE! For Centuries, the Church has rewritten theology in an attempt to explain why God’s promises don’t seem to be operational today. We quote the Word, we begin to stand in faith, then suddenly we look with our eyes and think with our mind and reinterpret what God “must have meant” so it lines up with our experience.

Why do we reserve the right to think apart from Him? If we allow the
physical evidence to have the final word, then where is faith? Faith is not faith till it is opposed! Till we meet resistance, we are simply operating in the flesh. Anyone, even an unbeliever believes what he sees! Believers are called to a higher standard. If we say we live by faith, then God’s Word IS the last word. No other outcome is conceivable let alone acceptable to us. We are all in, His Word alone will save us! There is no plan B, there is no backing down. His Word says stand therefor! There is no time period, only an expectation that what He promised He is able to perform.

We have a mandate, to advance the Kingdom of God, uphold His principals and accomplish His will on the earth. God’s Word is His will, His power and authority to carry it out reside in us in the person of the risen Christ. We are not called to interpret it, or debate it or bring it to pass; we are called to believe it! When we have the faith in His word that He does, we will stand and demand that the evidence line up with His truth, not rewrite His Word to line up with our experience.

And yes! The evidence WILL oppose us! Why are we surprised by the opposition? The warfare imagery in the bible is not for effect, WE REALLY ARE IN A BATTLE! We are mandated to hold that line knowing that at some point the enemy must give way to the truth! Christ has disarmed him, and he knows it. Do YOU?

Dumbing Down the Gospel

As I listened to my Pastor deliver the message last Sunday, I wondered how we, the body, have taken the Gospel of God, in which God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness, and have managed to make the promises of God of no effect in our lives? This is the same gospel that by its OWN power caused the Holy Spirit to fall on the hearers, as they believed, while Peter was still speaking! (Acts 10:44) And I heard several people talking after the service whose Spirit man recognized TRUTH and LIFE and they physically felt Him grab onto the message. A woman said it’s as if she’s had amnesia, and grace was something she knew once and was now awakening to. One man said he felt like he was having a panic attack on the inside during the message. AMEN! If we weren’t in “civilized” America, I wonder what that reaction would have looked like on the outside!
This week I’ve meditated on “what responsibility as a body do we bear for the lack of power in the church” and the answer is ALL of it. In our effort to make it palatable we coin phrases (I’ve done it, we all have) like “I’m living for Jesus” REALLY? As if we could, on our BEST day, do anything in our own strength and pride to add one iota of Magnificence and Glory to His person. He isn’t asking us to live FOR Him, He says Yield! And I will live through you. Even there, we pat ourselves on the back for “accepting Christ” we tell others, you can “invite Him into your heart” MORE LIKE TRY TO RESIST HIM! I will never forget the Sunday evening service 30 years ago, I experienced His love full force. I had said no to Him for the last time that Sunday morning. When the service started I knew what I was there to do, I could hardly wait for the altar call. I don’t even remember getting to the front of the church, nothing around me mattered, at last I was His. It reminds me of the old movies where the man decides he will kiss the woman and she makes a futile attempt to struggle for a while before she surrenders to what she was hoping for all along.
The ironic thing is, our biggest struggle seems to be remaining humble, “less of me and more of Him”, and we end up making ourselves the focal point even in that. We worry so about Him getting the glory, and if we are in His will. When we see how big He really is, we will see that He is not concerned with our ability to stand in His way. In fact our preoccupation with our “self-centeredness” may be the one thing that makes us most ineffective.
The key is seeing Him. When He unveils Himself in the Gospel, we are beholding the risen Christ; the inexplicable truth of everything that He is overwhelms us. At that moment we begin to understand that He has done it all, and all that is left to do is yield, and we are so disarmed at that juncture that we can do nothing else.
If we truly believe He is IN us, the Spirit of the risen Christ, will we believe for a moment that our simple fleshly shortcomings are an obstacle to Him? He will simply reveal more of Himself, become even more disarming, and in a moment of “controlled ecstasy” we will relinquish what was never a concern to Him anyway. And our plea that we would bring Him glory. Hah, how ludicrous, we cannot! All glory and honor belong to Him; by His very nature he receives all glory. For us to bring Him glory we must stop trying to bring Him glory. We are hidden in Him so He has already taken us out of the equation and He lives through us to glorify Himself because any attempts on our own would only serve to give us cause for boasting. We grovel and attempt to demote ourselves, all the while bringing more attention to ourselves, He waits patiently till our flesh is satisfied that we are sufficiently humbled, and then reminds us that our flesh is no match for Him and can we now proceed? True humility, is boldness, as we recognize that it IS none of me and ALL of Him. We will stop being victims and we will walk in victory when we stop trying to make Him preeminent and recognize that He already is!